HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 263 



the chitinous plates, which originally marked the segments, 

 appear as mere islands in a sea of flesh (fig. 71). 



For some time the royal pair attend to their own wants, 

 but eventually from the eggs laid by the queen the new 

 community is formed. These termite communities vary 

 considerably in composition ; but in some of them are to be 

 found a king and queen, large and small " workers," large 

 and small "soldiers," winged males and females, together 

 with peculiar immature males and females which, should 

 occasion arise, can be developed and made capable of pro- 

 ducing further progeny they are known as complementary 

 or substitution kings and queens. The bulk of the com- 

 munity is composed of " workers " and " soldiers," both of 

 them sexually imperfect adults, either males or females, 

 and in this respect they differ from the true ants, whose 

 workers are imperfect females. 



The " workers " and " soldiers " are blind in most species, 

 as are the winged forms, though they possess eyes. All the 

 individuals of a community work together for the common 

 good ; upon the king and queen falls the duty of continuing 

 the species. The workers remove the eggs to places where 

 they may best be incubated, collect food for the rest of the 

 community and prepare it for the king and queen, for the 

 young, and for all other members of the community unable 

 to forage for themselves. The feeding operations are 

 peculiar, the very young individuals are fed on food which 

 is regurgitated by the workers, whilst all other individuals 

 are fed on voided food. When a hungry termite encounters 

 a foraging worker, it strokes the hinder part of the latter 

 individual with its antennae and mouth parts, when the 

 creature yields some of its food, which is eagerly eaten. The 

 habit is peculiar, but results in exceedingly clean nests, for 

 the voidings are eaten over and over again, till they con- 

 tain no nourishment ; all refuse matter, cast skins, bodies 

 of dead and sick individuals are likewise consumed. The 

 duty of the soldiers is to protect the other members of a 



